Sunny California

We just returned from spending a few days in Los Angeles, CA with Ben and Mara. We had a great time relaxing and tried to go to the beach almost every day. The weather wasn't quite as warm as we had hoped for, but we were still really glad to see the ocean.

At the first place we stopped we had only been out of the car a few minutes and we saw about 6 dolphins swim past us. It was pretty cool. I was too slow to catch them on camera, but here are Caleb and Gavin watching them swim by.

It was really nice just to be able to sit and enjoy the sun and surf.
Truns out the ocean was a bit too loud for Gavin and he was actually kind of scared of the water... this is him running away after we tried to coax him near a wave.He did however have a great time increasing his rock collection ten fold.
And Dad was able to coax him into getting his feet wet just this once...

Since we had previously only seen the ocean from the Oregon coast it was a nice change to not feel like your feet might fall off when they touched the water.
Knocking over sandcastles is actually more fun than building them, in our world.
Here is Henry looking all grown up and ready for the beach... it was too windy for him to get much time to lay in the sun though.
The last night in California we went to Muscle Beach for a beautiful evening to watch the sunset.
Gavin and Dad decide to use the time to work out on the rings and get in shape.
What a fabulous iron cross!
Ocean Sunsets are always the best.

Smiley Boys

Just a couple of cute photos of Henry and Gavin. Henry has been smiling for a while now, but we have not been fast enough to catch him on camera until this day outside. If that toothless smile doesn't make you grin back... and those dimples. So cute. I can't believe how fast he is growing.

Here is Gavin, aka Curly-locks, in the bath. I guess he has his Mom's hair. Grandma Marshall would be thrilled. Photos from our trip to LA to come soon.

A Race and New Floors

The first weekend after Caleb finished his prelims we decided to refinish the floors in the living room and dining room. Here are some before and after. You can see that it was pretty bad, it took a lot longer than we thought, but has been well worth it.

And the after... So Shiny!

Gavin and Henry went to stay with Grandma and Stacy in Saratoga Springs while we did the floors. They had a great time, especially Gavin, playing with the girls all day and running free.
Mia and Gavin having a great time on the trampoline.
Check out Mallory... catching some air.
We attended a benefit to raise money for a family in Nathan and Stacy's neighborhood that lost their Mother and their home in a gas explosion. Here is Libbie after her 100 meter race, she was super fast.

Here are Nathan and Stacy at the end of the 5k, they did a great job, and had a great cheering squad. They weren't first, but they were definetely fast.

Eastah Eggs...

One of my favorite things is how normal everyday words can be turned into new words or said with just the right accent to make your delightful little two year old sound like a gangster. "Eastah Egg" has been our favorite thing to convince Gavin to say this last week. Luckily he does not yet see through our cunning ways of showing him off to everyone who would get a kick out of it.
I had a very interesting time trying to take photos of the boys before church, in their cute clothes. Gavin kept trying to hug and kiss Henry and Henry kept tipping over off the pillow. This was as good as I could manage.

Henry looks so grown up with his handsome shirt and receding hairline. Aside from Easter we have just been hanging around working on the front lawn and landscaping and trying to get a few things going on the house. With Caleb working on his qualifiers at school for a few more weeks, it has been an interesting time trying to keep Gavin busy and distracted. Luckily the weather has been fabulous so we have spent a lot of time outside and at the playground.

Here is Gavin trying to cut in on Henry's camera time.
Taking a break from planting flowers with Mom and digging up a thorny bush with Dad.
Henry relaxing and looking cute.
We have spent some time with Nathan and Stacy's family lately, just hanging out. Here is Stacy and the girls... Libbie, Mallory and Mia... holding and admiring Henry.

Gavin having a great time with Aunt Rachel and Libbie.
I had to take some cute photos of Henry before he gets chubbier and I forget that he was ever actually this little.

Gavin on a cold day... relaxing on the body pillow that his friend Brandt gave him for his birthday.

Gavin is 2!

Gavin turned 2 last week on March 16. He was pretty excited this year for things like presents and singing Happy Birthday, which is one of his favorite songs. It was fun for us too, though we are still sitting back wondering where the last 2 years have gone. It seems like he has been with us forever, but also like he was just a tiny baby a month ago.

We had his pictures taken, also a fun time, since he now has his own opinions about how things should go. Luckily he is just cute, so here are a few of our favorites.

The classic school picture shot.

Our little man, he loves to walk around like this.
This one is very typically Gavin, when he is nervous, he pulls his shirt up and shows his belly, which he has just done for the photographer. This is Dad's favorite. A few birthday party shots. Here he is with his cousins- Mallory, Mia and Libbie. Don't they look great in Elmo hats.

Here is the Elmo cake- Big Bird is driving a tow truck and pulling Elmo. Bringing home the cake is what got Gavin the most excited to have a birthday party. He was impressed with himself for blowing out the candle as well.

Some present opening...

He got his first bike for his birthday. We over estimated on the size of the helmet, but he was pretty excited to wear it right away.

A Blessing

Henry Maxim came to church for the first time on Sunday, he got to see Caleb called to the bishopric and receive a blessing. It was pretty exciting and he did really well.

Here he is with Dad before church. They are looking very handsome together.

The two boys all dressed up for the big day at church.
A pose with Mom too.
Oh... the whole family... the boys were not exactly cooperating.
Here is Henry during his first bath, we are definetely much better parents the second time around. The bath was actually warm and cozy enough for him to fall asleep.

Here he is feeling very relaxed and clean. One of the best things about giving him a bath is his cute and crazy hair.Gavin likes to lay down next to Henry. We thought this was funny, since it looks like Henry is telling Gavin a secret.